Bypassing the CSI Bottleneck: MARL-Driven Spatial Control for Reflector Arrays
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Abstract (arXiv)
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) are pivotal for next-generation smart radio environments, yet their practical deployment is severely bottlenecked by the intractable computational overhead of Channel State Information (CSI) estimation. To bypass this fundamental physical-layer barrier, we propose an AI-native, data-driven paradigm that replaces complex channel modeling with spatial intelligence. This paper presents a fully autonomous Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) framework to control mechanically adjustable metallic reflector arrays. By mapping high-dimensional mechanical constraints to a reduced-order virtual focal point space, we deploy a Centralized Training with Decentralized Execution (CTDE) architecture. Using Multi-Agent Proximal Policy Optimization (MAPPO), our decentralized agents learn cooperative beam-focusing strategies relying on user coordinates, achieving CSI-free operation. High-fidelity ray-tracing simulations in dynamic non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environments demonstrate that this multi-agent approach rapidly adapts to user mobility, yielding up to a 26.86 dB enhancement over static flat reflectors and outperforming single-agent and hardware-constrained DRL baselines in both spatial selectivity and temporal stability. Crucially, the learned policies exhibit good deployment resilience, sustaining stable signal coverage even under 1.0-meter localization noise. These results validate the efficacy of MARL-driven spatial abstractions as a scalable, highly practical pathway toward AI-empowered wireless networks.
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References · 13
- 2021The Surprising Effectiveness of PPO in Cooperative, Multi-Agent Gamescited by 903
- 2018Fully Decentralized Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Networked Agentscited by 189
- 2020Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted Multiuser MISO Systems Exploiting Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 38
- 2024Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted VEC Based on Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learningcited by 11
- 2019Two-Timescale Channel Estimation for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Aided Wireless Communicationscited by 8
- 2021An Overview of Signal Processing Techniques for RIS/IRS-aided Wireless Systemscited by 8
- 2019Coverage Enhancement for NLOS mmWave Links Using Passive Reflectorscited by 4
- 2021Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces: A Signal Processing Perspective With Wireless Applicationscited by 4
- 2024A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach for Autonomous Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfacescited by 3
- 2024Insight Gained from Migrating a Machine Learning Model to Intelligence Processing Unitscited by 3
- 2024Guiding Wireless Signals with Arrays of Metallic Linear Fresnel Reflectors: A Low-cost, Frequency-versatile, and Practical Approachcited by 3
- 2025Signal Whisperers: Enhancing Wireless Reception Using DRL-Guided Reflector Arrayscited by 3
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